BBC issues statement as sports shows are cancelled after Gary Lineker boycott

The BBC has apologised after it was forced to pull several sports programmes following a boycott by presenters and pundits in support of Gary Lineker.

The broadcaster said it would air only “limited sport programming” over the weekend and was “working hard to resolve the situation”. Saturday’s TV and radio sporting timetables (11 March) were changed at the last minute and Sunday’s Match Of The Day (12 March) has also been thrown into question.

It comes after Lineker was told to step back from hosting the Saturday edition of the football highlights programme in a row over impartiality. Fellow sports presenters including Alex Scott, Kelly Somers and Jason Mohammad said they were pulling out of their shows, which resulted in Football Focus and Final Score being scrapped from the BBC One schedule, while 5 Live’s radio coverage was also altered.

In a statement, a BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC will only be able to bring limited sport programming this weekend and our schedules will be updated to reflect that. We are sorry for these changes which we recognise will be disappointing for BBC sport fans.

“We are working hard to resolve the situation and hope to do so soon.”